Artificial intelligence is increasingly integrated into search tools, research databases, school assignments, workplaces, and everyday life. Because of this, it is important for librarians to understand enough about it to answer questions, protect library values, and help communities make informed choices.
AI training does not have to begin with complicated technology or enthusiastic experimentation. The best programs give librarians time to ask basic questions, consider concerns, learn what these tools can and cannot do, and decide for themselves what belongs in their workplace.
Here are several high-quality AI training options for librarians, including free courses and resources for academic, public, school, and other library settings.
You do not have to love AI to learn about it
Learning about AI does not mean using AI in your own work, encouraging patrons to use it, or accepting claims that AI will improve everything.
The first step is to learn how to recognize what an AI tool is doing, explain its limitations, ask useful questions, and make thoughtful decisions. A good AI training course should leave room for skepticism as well as curiosity.
Useful training may cover:
- What people mean by terms such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative AI
- Why AI tools sometimes produce convincing but incorrect information
- How bias and missing perspectives can occur in an AI system
- How to evaluate AI tools and AI-generated information
- Privacy, copyright, accessibility, and environmental concerns
- How AI is being used in library databases, discovery systems, and vendor products
- Ways librarians can discuss AI with students, faculty, teachers, families, and community members
- When it may be wiser to not use an AI tool
Here are a few trainings to consider completing.
1. Elements of AI: a gentle introduction to the basics
Elements of AI is a free online course developed by the University of Helsinki and MinnaLearn. It is designed for people without a technical background and does not require programming experience.
The course explains the basic ideas behind artificial intelligence in plain language. It explores how computers recognize patterns, make predictions, and learn from examples. It also considers the limits and broader effects of AI.
This may be a good choice if you want to understand what is happening behind the scenes without starting with a specific chatbot or productivity tool. You can work through the course at your own pace, and you do not need to decide how you feel about AI before you begin.
Best for: Librarians who want a self-paced, general introduction to how AI works.
Cost: Free.
2. RDMLA: AI for Librarians: a free course grounded in library work
RDMLA: AI for Librarians connects basic AI concepts to the work librarians already do. The course is free and open to learners around the world. Enroll here.
Topics include an introduction to AI, AI tools for library research, AI ethics, and AI use cases.
Best for: Librarians who want library-specific examples and an emphasis on ethics and responsible use.
Cost: Free.
3. Choice and Clarivate’s AI courses: especially useful for academic librarians
Choice’s AI Essentials for Academic Libraries courses are designed for people working in academic libraries. The course includes readings, multimedia materials, case studies, and interviews with professionals.
The course addresses connecting libraries to AI, a pedagogical road map for teaching AI literacy, and examples of how AI can create library workflow efficiencies.
Best for: Academic librarians who want context for conversations about AI use in university libraries and support for teaching AI literacy. This course is about using AI, and so could be argued to have a pro-AI bias.
Cost: The current micro-course is offered free of charge.
4. Library Juice Academy’s Practical AI for Librarians: for people who want guided practice
Practical AI for Librarians: Tools and Applications in Everyday Work is a four-week online course from Library Juice Academy.
Although the course includes hands-on work with tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Canva Magic Write, it also discusses privacy, transparency, and bias. Participants create a practical project for their own library, such as a sample policy, workflow, or literacy program.
This could be a good fit if you feel more comfortable learning with an instructor and a group. It may also be useful if your library is asking you to help develop a policy or training session and you want support turning general concerns into a concrete plan.
You do not have to become an enthusiastic AI user to benefit from this kind of course. Sometimes the most valuable outcome is a clearer policy about what your library will not do.
Best for: Librarians who want structured learning and a practical project.
Cost: $250; the course offers 1.5 CEUs or 15 professional-development hours.
5. ALA and ACRL resources: a flexible place to explore
The ALA AI Learning Events and Resources page brings together webinars, courses, guidance, and other materials from ALA divisions and related organizations.
The collection includes resources for academic, public, and school librarians. Some resources are available on demand, so you can choose a topic that feels relevant rather than committing to a long course immediately.
The page also links to the ACRL AI Competencies for Academic Library Workers. Although the competencies are not a course, they can help librarians and library leaders think about what staff members actually need to know. They may be especially useful when evaluating whether a proposed training is balanced, or whether it focuses too narrowly on tools and productivity.
Best for: Librarians who want to browse options or build a learning plan gradually.
Cost: Varies; many resources are free.
Remember: AI literacy should include the right to say no
The goal of AI training for librarians is not to persuade everyone to use artificial intelligence. It is to help librarians make informed choices.
Sometimes that choice may be to try a tool for a low-risk task. Sometimes it may be to wait, ask more questions, or decide that a tool is not appropriate. Librarians bring important professional values to this conversation: privacy, intellectual freedom, access, accuracy, transparency, and respect for human judgment.
Those values do not become less important because technology changes. In fact, they are one of the reasons librarians need a voice in conversations about AI.
The best AI training provides librarians with enough knowledge to recognize both the possibilities and the problems found in AI, prepared to support their communities, and to decide what role, if any, artificial intelligence should play in their work.